Nine years. That is how long I’ve been working on this story. It has gone through many revisions and then a major redo a few years ago. Now I’m ready to share this with the world.
Armored Piercing is a military action-adventure and the first part of a five-book series (I’m already working on the fourth book!). The plot revolves around a group of Canadian soldiers who go rogue after their base gets attacked by an unknown enemy—Shadow Company.
The main character is Sipho Morgess, a Captain in the Canadian Armed Forces. He leads the rogue group of soldiers against Shadow Company. He isn’t new to disobeying orders from his superiors, but he hasn’t done anything like this before. What makes Morgess such an interesting character is his tenacity and sheer will. When he puts his mind to something, he is relentless. His belief in getting the job done no matter what inspires others to follow him.
Armored Piercing initially started off as fanfiction. Back in Grade 8, I was obsessed with Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. The game’s story was mind-blowing, especially with the plot twist of a major character betraying you. Armored Piercing served as a direct sequel with new characters I created. The name actually comes from a mission title in the game’s Special Ops mode called “Armor Piercing.” I added the -ed because it sounded cooler.
It was important to me that the rogue group of soldiers were Canadian. In most of the movies and video games, the heroes are either American or British. It is rare to find an action-adventure that stars Canadian characters. Armored Piercing is the only example I know where this is seen. It’s refreshing to see Canadians save the day for a change (or at least try to). Also, by creating Canadian characters, I learned more about our country’s military: I researched ranks, different divisions, and weapons and equipment and vehicles, such as the Kodiak (or LAV III) and C7A2 assault rifle.
I became drawn to the military because of games like Call of Duty and Battlefield and movies like The Hurt Locker and Act of Valor. The fantasy of the military being like a heroic adventure has been around for a very long time. This fantasy is best perpetuated in video games since you can have all the fun without any real danger. As a writer, I can live this fantasy through the story I’m creating. Me being right there as my characters hold off bad guys during an intense shootout or pursue shadow operatives in a daring chase. Military stories are the most interesting to me because the good guys are well-trained shooters and the bad guys are dangerous zealots with a death wish, which bring about some of the best action scenes.
I only planned to write one book, but I fell in love with Armored Piercing and its world and cast of characters, so I wrote sequels. Rough drafts of books 2 and 3 are finished, and right now I’m working on book 4. I had to make changes to plot and characters to make the story more original from Modern Warfare 2. However, the inspirations from the game have remained intact.
Armored Piercing also differs from my last book The Invasion of Planet Earth. With that book, it focused on civilians who had no control over the circumstances they’re in. It was also a book about hope (and the struggle to keep it) and survival. While with Armored Piercing, it focuses on a group of soldiers who are able to do something about their present circumstances. This book is about revenge, revelations and betrayal. Also, Armored Piercing isn’t standalone and it is three times longer. If you enjoyed The Invasion of Planet Earth, then you’re in for a treat.
I’m excited to finally share Armored Piercing with the world, and I hope you’ll join me in this harrowing journey.
Armored Piercing is available on Amazon and will also release on Kobo at a later date.